Pál Szekeres

Pál Szekeres (born 22 September 1964, in Budapest[1]) is a Hungarian fencer. He has the distinction of being the first person to have won medals at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.[2][3][4][5]

The native form of this personal name is Szekeres Pál. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
Pál Szekeres
Pál Szekeres in 2015
Personal information
Born (1964-09-22) 22 September 1964
Budapest, Hungary
Sport
SportFencing
ClubÚjpesti TE
Medal record
Men's fencing
Representing  Hungary
Olympic Games
1988 Seoul Foil, team
Paralympic Games
1992 Barcelona foil individual
1996 Atlanta foil individual
1996 Atlanta sabre individual
2000 Sydney foil individual
2004 Athens sabre individual
2008 Beijing foil individual

Career in sport

Szekeres represented Hungary at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, and won a bronze medal in the team foil event.[3]

In 1991, he was injured in a bus accident, and used a wheelchair. He then took to wheelchair fencing. Described as "the most successful Paralympic athlete in Hungary",[3] he won a gold medal in foil at the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona, two gold at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, a bronze in 2000, 2004, and 2008. Outside the Paralympic Games, Szekeres participated in the Wheelchair Fencing World Cup in 2006, winning a bronze medal in the individual sabre event. He has also been European Champion, notably winning gold in the individual sabre event at the European Championships in 2007.[6] In 2008 he was ranked third in the world.[3]

Career in government and administration

From 1999 to 2005, Szekeres was deputy state secretary within the Ministry of Children, Youth and Sports.[3] He was also Ministerial Commissioner and Senior Programme Officer tasked with a government programme to provide "equal opportunity through sport for people living with disabilities".[7] From 1996 to 2000, he was a member of the Presidency of the International Wheelchair Fencing Committee.[4] From 2001 to 2005, he was "member at large" of the European Paralympic Committee, working in administration.[4][8] In 2005, he became President of the Hungarian Sports Federation for the Disabled. As of 2005, Szekeres was a member of the Executive Committee of the National Paralympic Committee of Hungary, and was participating in the organising of the International Paralympic Sport Film Festival.[4]

Szekeres has a university degree in physical education as a coach, and also holds a degree in marketing communication.[4]

See also

References
  1. Sports Reference
  2. "Pal Szekeres : médaillé olympique et paralympique !", Radio Canada, 23 September 2004
  3. "Hungarian Paralympic athlete Pal Szekeres's goal is to win gold" Archived 6 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Xinhua, 3 September 2008
  4. "Mr. Pal Szekeres", International Paralympic Committee
  5. "BBC Sport", 2 September 2012
  6. Comité Handisport de l'Isère, 16 July 2007
  7. "Terms of Reference for Documentation: “Equal opportunity through sport for people living with disabilities”, Project No. 02/SO/01-TL, website of the Hungarian Ministry of Children, Youth and Sports
  8. European Paralympic Committee News, September 2003
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